How was the Battle of Gettysburg important?

Answer 1

It was the Last Hurrah for the Confederacy. It was an attempt to force a negotiated settlement with the Union by displaying a conviction to take the fight into the North and to wreak havoc on the North in the process. It failed and began the slow march to Appomattox.
The Battle of Gettysburg was considered the high water mark of the Confederacy. The Confederate Army was all the way into Pennsylvania. A Union loss would have been devastating, cutting off the capital from the rest of the Union as well as the huge loss of life.

Answer 2

Gettysburg was such an important victory for the North first because it was such a significant defeat for the South. After three years of war, the South had not yet defeated the North, they had not won their independence and they had not convinced any foreign powers to recognize them. With the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st of that year, Lincoln had finally declared that the war was really about ending slavery, and had effectively blocked nations like France or England from recognizing the South. Much as they wanted their cotton imports to resume, those European powers did not want to intervene in a war that would end slavery. In a last ditch effort to prove their power, Lee conceived of a plan to invade the North. Antietam, fought in Maryland, was another major battle fought on Northern territory, but in a slave state. Gettysburg was the first battle fought in a free state, and was seen as a way of taking the war into the North. If Lee could invade the North - even take Philadelphia - then how could the USA deny the power and rights of the CSA? It was a big gamble - and Lee lost.

Lee underestimated, for one, the fervor with which the Army of the Potomac would resist what they saw as an invasion of their homeland. The men of the South fought with ferocity to protect their homeland, it should have been no different with men of the North. He was also operating without information from his cavalry, who were off showboating. He also failed to seize the initiative on the first day. And the final day - Pickett's Charge - was the entire battle in microcosm: a huge grand gesture that had it worked would have changed everything, but instead ended in bloody disaster because this war was no longer about grand gallant gestures.

Lee also failed for the reason the Confederacy was probably always doomed from the start - they did not have as many men, or war materials, and were always outnumbered and out-produced by the North.

Lincoln was, of course, at first elated at the victory. Not only had an embarrassing invasion of the North been thwarted, but Lee had been decisively beaten and a third of his army destroyed. However, in the rainy days afterwards, Lincoln was frustrated that Lee's retreating army was (again) not pursued and destroyed completely, and the war continued to drag on.

Gettysburg was also an important Northern victory because it landed on the same day - July 4th in fact - as another major victory, the fall of Vicksburg. Though the news wouldn't reach Washington for another few days, Grant's victory in capturing Vicksburg meant that the North had finally won complete control of the Mississippi, cutting the Confederacy in two.

Answer 3

It marked the end of Lee's ascendancy, and the Confederate effort ran out of momentum at this point.

Taken together with the loss of Vicksburg on the same day, this moment would always be known as the Confederate High Watermark.

Answer 4

It was the turning point in the war. It was the furthest north the Confederate Army got. It stopped the Confederacy from moving onto Philadelphia or NY or going back South to Washington DC. It cost the South dearly in soldiers they could not adequately replace, and they were pretty much on defense for the rest of the war. It also came at the same time as Grant took Vicksburg, a second huge blow for the South. It ended any last hopes of the Confederacy getting help from France or England.

Answer 5

The Battle of Gettysburg was one of the largest battle in the US Civil War. It's significance cannot be overstated. The invasion by Confederate General Robert E. Lee was an excellent plan to bring the war to the North, and if victorious, cause many Unionists to seek some type of peace agreement with the Confederacy. That the battle ended up as a major defeat for the South, ended any further attempts by Lee to carry the war to the North.

Answer 6

The Union troops were able to defeat the Confederate troops that had invaded the North

Answer 7

The Battle Of Gettysburg was important because if the Confederates won this battle, they would win the war. Also, the Battle also marked that Confederates would never invade the North again.

Answer 8

It was the turning point of the Civil War